PM in new health scare as hospital treats slipped disc

TONY Blair has been treated in hospital for a slipped disc after suffering chronic backache for many months, it emerged last night.

The Prime Minister was discharged from hospital yesterday after being referred by his GP and was last night convalescing at Chequers.

While he has made a full recovery, his third hospital visit in as many years is certain to reopen speculation about his health, and whether he is fit to carry out his promise to serve a full third term.

Mr Blair was given an anti-inflammatory injection for the back pain and was able to leave the Royal Free Hospital in north London following treatment and return to his country residence in Buckinghamshire.

In a surprisingly-timed statement at 9pm last night, 10 Downing Street disclosed that Mr Blair had been in pain "over the last couple of months".

He and Gordon Brown had embarked on a punishing campaign schedule, zig-zagging across Britain on a helicopter, giving speeches and glad-handing wellwishers.

Mr Blair had been noticed walking oddly during the election campaign - and had been asked about it by a member of the public.

Downing Street last night said that the Prime Minister had aggravated his back condition while working out in his gym.

Dr Andrew Platts, the consultant radiologist who treated the Prime Minister, indicated that Mr Blair was unlikely to require further medical attention.

A statement from Downing Street last night said: "The Prime Minister has been experiencing some back pain over the last couple of months. It has given him discomfort from time to time, but obviously hasn't stopped him doing his job.

"Following a referral by his GP, he had an outpatient appointment at the Royal Free Hospital earlier this evening. Following treatment, he went to Chequers."

Dr Platts, a consultant at the hospital, said: "The PM has been suffering from a slipped disc and has received treatment for this problem this evening. For the majority of people, this treatment is sufficient."

Cherie Blair seemed to have misunderstood the situation last night, suggesting her husband's condition was not so serious. "I won't talk about his health but it's not a slipped disc," she said at a legal awards dinner. It was later clarified that Mr Blair indeed had a slipped disc.

Backache is also a new health complaint for Mr Blair. He previously suffered an irregular heartbeat, corrected by surgery in October last year. Mr Blair expended extraordinary energy during the campaign, and finished off with a Cabinet reshuffle which critics said displayed signs of fatigue.

Mr Blair, who turned 52 this month, is one of the youngest Prime Ministers in British history and has built a gym in 10 Downing Street which he regularly uses.

A slipped disc happens when the soft part of the disc between the back's vertebrae bulges through the circle of connective tissue.

This prolapse may push on the spinal cord or on the nerve roots.

Last October, Mr Blair was sedated for the two-and-a-half-hour procedure at Hammersmith Hospital in west London to correct an irregular heartbeat, caused by an atrial flutter.